Apron for scrapers



g- 21, 1951 B. E. LINDQUIST 2,565,384

APRON FOR SCRAPERS Filed Nov. 30, 1946 INVEN TOR. aELiDa uL-Sa FYTTYS Patented Aug. 21, 1951 APRON'FOR SGRAPERS Benjamin E. Lindquish lu'rlockg Calif.

flpplicationNovember 3'0; 1 946;Serial N'o. 71-31300 3 Claims. (01. -s7-'-11's) 1 This invention 'relates in general to iimprove inents in an earth working implement; namely, a carryingscraper of the type which includes a front end loading 'b'owl, and a front apron mounted for cooperation with the'open front end of said bowl.

"One object of the present-inventionisto pro- 'vide a carrying scraper wherein the apron is power actuated" for atcuate swinging movement from' a position in advance ofthe bowl, through the" forward portion of the bowl in sweeping'relation'over the cutting-blade, to a position in the bowlrearwardly of-said blade, whereby an-ac'cumutation of earth at the blade may be swept into the bowl independent of forward motion of theimplement. In this manner capacity loading' of the bowl is facilitated.

-Another'object of the invention is 'to'articulate the apron, intermediate-'itsupper and lower edges, on -a transverse, horizontal axis whereby the lower sectionof said apron may hinge or swing relatively rearwardly and upwardly as the apron moves' forward on the'return stroke of its cycle of movement; this action of the lower section permitting the apron to clear or ride over loose and heaped earth accumulated at the blade'aft'erthe apronhas passed on each rearward or loading stroke.

'-A furtherobject of the'inventionis to provide a novel power actuated mount for the apron.

A further object of the invention is to provide a" practical apron for scrapersya'nd-one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects are accomplished by-meansof such structure and relative arrangement of parts as-will fully appear'by' a perusal ofthe' following specification and claims.

" In the drawings:

v Fig. 1 is a side elevation, mainly in section, of a carrying scraper embodying the present invention; the earth loading apron being shown in its starting position in broken linesf in its position sweeping 1 across the'blade in full lines; and'at the end of its rearward or loading stroke in dotted-lines.

Fig 2 :is" asirnilar View," but shows the manner in which the lower section of the apron hinges rearwardly and upwardly on' theforward or re-,- turn stroke of said apron-wherebyto. clear accumulated earth heaped at said-blade.

Referring now moreparticularly. to .the characters of referenceon the drawingsthe invention ishere shown as embodied in a carrying 'scraper which includes-generally a main" frame 1, verticallyadjustably supported-at its 'forward ena by structure indicated-in part at 2, and whe'elqsupported at its rear end,-as at 3.

An -"ear'th receiving and carrying bowl-4 is mountedin the frame l,"and said bowlfwhich-"is open at its forward end,- -is-pr'ovid'ed at the" front edge of the bottom 5 with a transverse cutting 2 and d'iggingz blade-6. .The bowl-4 his adapted'to be-unloaded means 'such?as a vertically movable, rear end gate; indicated diagrammatically atl.

The? present invention resides in the form, mounting, and operation of the rrontta'pron .of the scraper; such apron being indicated generally at:-8. The -apron-8s extends transversely of the implement-and issubstantially thev same height as'the bowl, and of a length so that it may :move lengthwise f of the implement between the side plateszof said bowl.

"The-apron 8, which will l iereinafter :be described in detail,..is suspended by a pair of :transversely spaced arms" 9-wh ich extend upwardly to rigid connection "with' Ya horizontal 'crossshaft 10 :such'. arms being forwardly curved,=.-'as-shown. The horizontal cross shaft l -0 :is journaled, adjac'ent -itscen'ds,:in' connection 'with rigidposts I I which .upstand fronr opposite: sides of the r main frame I adjacentthe' front end of: the? bowl; such crossshaft being (disposed generally in vertical alinement 1 with" the rcutting and digging blade-- 6. Thei ap'ron 8':is thus im'ounted for arcuate swingin'g motionfrom a starting position; ahead of i the openfront endsof'ithe' bowl, into said bowl over the'blade'i' Grand toia DOSitiOIlr'flt theend'of its str'okefin' the bowl some'distanceto the'rear-pf saidzilcladafbutrelativelyelevated. '.As shown in Fig. 1, these threefipositions areashownin'broken linespfull lines,f and'fdot-tedf lines;1respectively.

The-horizontal :cross" shaft 1'0 :is rocked 'to swing: ztherapronria through its cycle 'of rwarcuate movement; i. e. through "a rearward loading strokacrollcwed by :a forward: return :zstrcke,- :hy meansifsthe' fol-lowing power unit:

A radial lever I2 is fixed onand'pro-jectsfdownwardly: from f the --'shaft I B, and @is pivotally connected at'iits' lower end with a clevis 13 on the forward: endiof a piston :rod" 44 which -extends outwardly from a fluid-pressure ."actuated. power cylinderfi l 5 of double-acting 1 type. cylinder f5; extendslengthwise of the implement, andtis.pivotedat its rear end, as. at 16, in connection withbracket' I! on the main frame I. The rdouble-acting" power cylinder 'l5 is controlled by a fluids-pressure system,here'shown only win part at -l 8, but which :system extends forwardly to the tractorto :which the scraper is connected and isthere" valve -controlledby the tractoroperator.

The apron 8'- issectional, comprising 'anupper transverse section I 9 and a lower transversesection 20; said sections'bein hinged or articulated at adjacent edges 'on a transverse zhorizontal axispas at 21 for relative rearward and upward swinging :motion of the lower section. 20. ;.The lower section?!) is fitted, on the front side, with a: pair of transversely spaced ribs 22, which ribs correspond to the mounting arms 9, which. are rigidly aflixed to the front. side of the upper section l9. At adjacent ends the arms 9 and ribs This power 3 22 project in overlapping relation, as at 23, whereby to form stops limiting forward hinging or articulating motion of the lower section 20 to the position shown in Fig. 1.

At their ends the upper and lower apron sections [9 and 20 are provided with rearwardly projecting side wings, the upper side wings being shown at 24, and the lower side wings being shown at 25. Adjacent upper and lower side wings 24 and 25 lap each other, in cooperative relationship at all times, and serve to prevent lateral spillage of loose earth from the apron when the same is working.

When the scraper is in operation and loading, the bowl 4 is lowered so that the blade 6 engages the earth in a cutting and digging position. At intervals the operator causes the power cylinder l5 to actuate so as to swing the apron 6 through its previously described rearward, loading stroke. Upon such stroke the apron 8 engages the accumulation of earth adjacent and above the cutting blade, sweeping such earth rearwardly into the bowl 4. In this manner loading of the scraper is materially facilitated, and maximum loads can be obtained. Additionally, the dirt friction at the blade 8 is relieved, permitting of more effective action of said blade.

When the apron 8 reaches the rear end of its loading stroke, the double-acting power cylinder I5 is reversed, whereupon said apron traverses its forward or return stroke. To avoid retardation of such stroke by the heap of loose earth which has accumulated at the blade 6, after passage of the apron on its loading stroke, which heap is indicated generally at 26, said apron is 1 articulated in the manner described. Thus, upon its forward, return stroke the lower section 26 of the apron hinges rearwardly and upwardly and rides over the heap 26 without drag being imposed upon the power unit. Once the apron has cleared the heap 26 the lower section 2!! is of course free to return to its starting position, as shown in broken lines in Fig. 1.

The described apron arrangement is simple, yet rugged, in its construction and will serve the intended purpose with a minimum of maintenance or repair; the direct connected power cylinder [5 affording a powerful but smooth operating means for swinging the apron through its cycle of movement.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that there has been produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to that do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, the following is claimed as new and useful and upon which Letters Patent are desired:

1. An apron unit for a carrying scraper which includes a bowl open at its front end and having a digging blade at the bottom of said end, the unit comprising posts upstanding from the bowl on opposite sides adjacent its open end, a cross shaft journaled in connection with the posts, power means operative to reversibly rotate said shaft, arms fixed on and depending from the shaft, and an apron mounted on said arms for swinging motion in a cycle lengthwise of the scraper upon reverse rotation of the shaft, said cycle including a rearward loading stroke and a forward return stroke, the apron traversing a path, on its loading stroke, extending from a starting position ahead of the blade, into the bowl over the blade, to a, position in the bowl rearwardly of the blade; the apron being articulated for relative rearward hinging motion of the lower portion thereof from a normally dependent position.

2. An apron unit for a carrying scraper which includes a bowl open at its front end and having a digging blade at the bottom of said end, the unit comprising an apron disposed adjacent and in cooperative relation to the open front end of the bowl, means mounting the apron for motion in a cycle lengthwise of the scraper, said cycle including a rearward loading stroke and a forward return stroke, the apron traversing a path, on its loading stroke, extending from a starting position ahead of the blade, into the bowl over the blade, to a position in the bowl rearwardly of the blade, the apron including an upper section and a lower section, means hinging said sections together at adjacent edges on a transverse horizontal axis for relative rearward hinging motion of the lower section from a normally dependent position, stop means to prevent relative forward hinging motion of the lower section from said normally dependent position, and power means operative to effect such cycle of motion of the apron; said apron mounting means being arranged so that on each stroke the apron traverses an arcuate path whose intermediate portion is lower than its end portions.

3. An apron unit for a carrying scraper which includes a bowl open at its front end and having a digging-blade along the front edge of the bottom of the bowl, such unit comprising supports on the sides of the bowl projecting vertically in substantially the same vertical plane as that in which lies the front edge of the bottom of the bowl, a shaft journaled in the upper ends of the supports, means to oscillate the shaft, downwardly projecting arms fixed to the shaft, an apron fixed to said arms, the overall length of the arms and apron being substantially the same as the distance between the axis of the shaft and the front edge of the bottom of the bowl whereby when the shaft is oscillated the apron may be moved through an arc lengthwise of the bowl and from a position forwardly of the front edge of the bottom of the bowl to a position rearwardly thereof and within the bowl with the front edge of the bottom of the bowl lying tangent to said arc, the apron being in part collapsible in a rearwardly direction whereby to allow it to swing out of the way of and ride over accumulated dirt in the bowl as the apron is swung from within the bowl to a position forwardly of the bowl.

BENJAMIN E. LINDQUIST.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 605,621 Acklin June 14, 1898 1,958,195 LeBleu May 8, 1934 2,172,672 Daniels Sept. 12, 1939 2,189,222 Rapp Feb. 6, 1940 2,396,287 Robb Mar. 12, 1946 2,411,280 Lichtenberg et al. Nov. 19, 1946 2,425,664 Zakel Aug. 12, 1947 

